This is terrific. I really like the simple way the rules have gone with using standard six sided dice. It works well. A good, easy to follow game with bags of flavour. A little starting setting, a starting scenario and expansions available to take the game into new genres. This is really well done. Thank you Mr.Washbourne for making this.

Another fun little game from Simon Washburne.

This will allow you to play stories like Redwall or Mouse Guard with relative ease. The game mechanics will be familiar to most RPGers and easy to pick up.

And its fun to read.

all in all, a great value for $5.00.

For several years, I've been trying to get my younger kids interested in role-playing games, but their interest, prior to this game, has been cursory, at best. The first game of Woodland Warriors that I conducted was for two kids, the second, for four... the third game that we played two days ago had seven kids, four of them girls, all of them excited about the prospect of controlling cute fuzzy-animal characters in search of adventure. The mechanics are simpler than traditional D&D, and the range of character races and classes seems to have a lot of appeal -- I especially like the supplementary "Woodwise" class. So far, translating a standard D&D adventure module is pretty simple, especially if you think of moles as dwarves and squirrels as elves.:-) I'm looking forward to further supplements, and the players are just looking forward. Thanks, Simon Washbourne.

(originally posted on TenkarsTavern.com)

If you can't guess by the creature on the cover, it's an RPG similar to Redwall (I have that game packed away somewhere) and Harvesters (based on the C&C ruleset). You get to role play some woodland creatures in a game loosely based on Swords & Wizardry.

Why do I say loosely based? It's strictly a D6 based game. Yes, even combat uses a lowly D6. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Tunnels & Trolls fan... I like my D6s by the buckets. Still, its a bit jarring to go into this with a preconceived notion of a D20 based game and come out holding D6s.

Does it work? From what I can see it should. You may need to get past measuring distance in "paws" instead of "feet", but it's a cut concession that the kids may enjoy. Still, most of the mechanics and stats are easy enough to convert back and forth to the Core S&W rules.

Combat may take some getting used to (I had the combat section multiple times to understand the Hit Dice / Combat Dice resolution, and the ability to roll less dice for an "add" to the remaining dice. I've got a feeling it would have been easier to grasp w/o all the D&D baggage I came in with.

Advancement is limited to 6 levels (limited advancement is also a feature of Harvesters), which is probably enough for younger gamers. Sometimes, less is more.

Rounding it all out is a sandboxie setting and an adventure to get the party started. All in all, a very complete package that should work well with younger gamers or an experienced group looking for a change of pace. Just remember to leave the polyhedrons behind. All you need are some D6.

Woodland Warriors is a toolkit role-playing game built up from an old school rules set that doesn't 100% work for it, but does serve well enough. It is not entirely a bare-bones product, presenting a setting and reasonably good quick start adventure. For anyone who likes the idea of intelligent and civilized animal characters without a hint of anime-furry basis, but who couldn't get into Mouseguard due to the oddities of the Burning Wheel rules, this is a good choice.

• I have a more in-depth review of this game at http://knightsoftheblackbanner.blogspot.com/2011/06/woodland-warriors.html

Great little game! the system is genius!

I really love the way Simon has turned the S&W system into a seamless d6 OD&D game. The races are very evocative and the classes very well done. It's the kind of game you could read once and start playing immediately, but detailed enough that you won't get bored of it anytime soon.

I bought this game quite a while ago, but only recently got to play it a few times, hence this review (my first ever even though i buy something from rpgnow pretty much every week), as i felt it deserved some attention. Our 3 sessions to date have been great fun and i'm genuinely hoping that Mr Washburn sticks with this core system for a bunch of other things!

The end.

Ps - The artwork is great too! Oh and Grubman's adventure is very well written indeed!

Woodland Warriors, based on the Swords & Wizardry iteration of OD&D, is brilliant! I am especially satisfied with the use of d6s that essentially transform the classic game system to a roll/keep affair. Dave Bezio's adventure in the back really captures the Redwall feel this game seems meant to stress. I will be playing this with my 7-year-old daughter and nephew. The excellent side effect is the kids have asked me to read the original Redwall to them!

My one gripe is i would have liked to seen details bringing the classes to Level 10 or more.

Being a big Redwall/Mouseguard fan, as well as a fan of old-school games like Swords & Wizardry, this seemed like a sure buy for me. And I was not dissapointed. The writing is good, the ruleset is concise and clear, and the maps and art are charming. I really like the all d6 approach to OD&D that is in here, and am tempted to use it for regular fantasy games as well.

Woodland Warriors is a new game from Simon Washbourne, The game allows players to take on the roles of anthropomorphic animals in a medieval like setting . If you enjoy stories such as Redwall, Mistmantle Chronicles, Mouseguard, etc. you'll feel right at home with this game.

The game's system is a modified version of the Swords & Wizardry rules, which itself is a variation of the Original Dungeons and Dragons system. The biggest changes to the system is the use of d6's for every roil whether attack, damage, or saving throw, and that character progression is limited to 6th level. These and other tweaks to the system greatly simplify the game.

The game has four character classes available to play; Friar, Scout, Warrior, and Wizard. Players can also multi-class. There are five races for use as PCs; Badger, Hedgehogs, Moles, Mice, and Squirrels. The Monster section has a few other races such as the Hare, and the Otter that may be suitable to play with a few tweaks. There is also a Rogue NPC class which could be used as a fifth character class with your Referee's permission.

The books includes a nice little campaign setting called Stonewell Abbey, along with several adventure seeds. The game includes a full adventure as well.

The full color art, and presentation really helps convey the genre quite nicely. Just a casual read through of the book conjures up a feeling of adventure.

To try the game out I ran the included adventure for my wife, two teenage daughters, and a family friend. None of them had ever played a role playing game before. I was able to walk them through character creation, and how to play in less than 20 minutes. All the players were able to quickly grasp the simplified rules, and jump right into the game. The setting, and the system complemented each of perfectly. The included adventure was a nice introduction to the setting, and everyone had a great time playing, and are now looking forward to exploring Stonewell Abbey further.

Woodland Warriors is a great value. If you are a fan this genre, or would like to try something off the beaten path, you can't go wrong with this book. Highly recommended!

Ok, I like some things about this book, but not others.

The setting is an ok setting that lends itself to being more of a kids' game. There are some minor gripes I have with correctness (a woman who holds the same position as a abbot is called an abbess), and the fact that it's basically Redwall: The Game with attempts to avoid legal action. However, as far as gaming goes, these have no effect on it.

The system? Not quite so ok. Take the d20 system, which is nice and simple, and port it straight to d6. By scaling it down. A 17% guaranteed miss chance in combat? Really? I mean, these are heroes. Basically every gripe I have with the d20 system becomes more glaring when it's taken down smaller. The modifiers are, at least, toned down similarly, but it's still way easy to run into situations where it's gonna result in a 73% chance of brilliant success and 17% chance of failure. This isn't necessarily bad, but it removes the focus on actually playing strategically and places the focus on probability, with no chance for marginal success (literally, if you have a +1 to hit modifier, you can't hit the magic sweet spot between missing and hitting, because your results are 1-failure or 2+1-win), which would make the system feel more fluid.

All in all, I like its effort, but it just runs into walls over and over. I mean, it's good, but I've seen many others try the same game without falling into the "Let's make a kids' game" trap, and actually using a more serious approach. Believe me, a kid's game does not need to be simplified this far. Still, the art's decent and the writing's good (even if the technical aspects aren't so much), so it's not bad even if it's not stellar.